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The card, which will go down in Houston on February 11, will lead to a rematch of the middleweight title between defending champion Israel Adesanya, and the man he knocked out to win the ballot back in 2019, Robert Whittaker.
In the co-host event, Whittaker's teammate Aussie Tai Tuivasa will take the toughest test of his career as he steps into the octagon with Houston heavyweight Derrick Lewis - who holds the record for most knockouts in UFC history.
But first let's talk about the event, then Adesanya has been absolutely brilliant in middleweight, the only spot on his MMA record with a short detour for the light heavyweight title picture. "The Last Style Bender" (21-1) entered the title defense with a 10-0 middleweight record, beating Marvin Vettori (twice), Paulo Costa, Joel Romero, Calvin Gastellam, Derek Bernson and Anderson Silva. Elliott finished 185 pounds. Then, of course, is the man he rolled to win the UFC Middleweight title.
Whittaker (23-5) appeared ready to make a strong case for himself as the UFC's second biggest middleweight champion, right behind the legendary "Spider" Silva. The spark was minimal after Adisnia was knocked out by Whitaker in front of an Australian loyalist. Former champion Whitaker defeated dangerous fighters such as Gastelum, Jared Canonier and Darren Till to make himself No. 1.
The Card will also feature a high-stakes middleweight showdown between top contenders Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier, which could give the winner a crack at the title. Beyond that, the lineup will include veterans, contenders and emerging prospects alike. Which are as follows.
UFC 271 Main Card (pay-per-view)
Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker
Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa
Jared Cannonier vs. Derek Brunson
Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo
Bobby Green vs. Nasrat Haqparast
UFC 271 Prelims
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jared Vanderaa
Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
Casey O’Neill vs. Roxanne Modafferi
Carlos Ulberg vs. Fabio Cherant
Ed Herman vs. Maxim Grishin
UFC 271 Early Prelims
Mana Martinez vs. Ronnie Lawrence
Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
Jeremiah Wells vs. Mike Diamond
